Reports

Provided below is a listing of BES-sponsored workshop reports resulting from The "Basic Research Needs" Workshop Series (1.3MB) that are used to help identify research directions for a decades-to-century energy strategy.

[PDF file requirements (16KB)]

Longer abstracts of these reports

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The Mesoscale Science Report:

From Quanta to the Continuum: Opportunities for Mesoscale Science

This Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) report summarizes the results of meetings and web interactions (e.g., www.meso2012.com) sponsored by the BESAC Mescoscale Science Subcommittee to identify the opportunities, the challenges, and the benefits of mastering mesoscale science. (more)

PDF file of this report (8.1MB)

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The Energy Challenges Report:

New Science for a Secure and Sustainable Energy Future

This Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) report summarizes a 2008 study by the Subcommittee on Facing our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science to: (1) assimilate the scientific research directions that emerged from the BES Basic Research Needs workshop reports (below) into a comprehensive set of science themes, and (2) identify the new implementation strategies and tools required to accomplish the science. (more)

PDF file of this report (561KB) | One-page summary of this report (17KB)

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The Energy Technology Report:

The Photon Report:

Next-Generation Photon Sources for Grand Challenges in Science and Energy

This Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) report summarizes the results of an October 2008 Photon Workshop of the Subcommittee on Facing our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science to identify connections between major new research opportunities and the capabilities of the next generation of light sources. Particular emphasis was on energy-related research. (more)

PDF file of this report (9.4MB)

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The Grand Science Challenges Report:

Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination

This Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) Grand Challenges report identifies the most important scientific questions and science-driven technical challenges facing BES and describes the importance of these challenges to advances in disciplinary science, to technology development, and to energy and other societal needs. The report originated from a January 25, 2005, request from the Office of Science and is the product of numerous BESAC and Grand Challenges Subcommittee meetings and conferences in 2006-2007. (more)

PDF file of this report (28.9MB)

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The 10 Basic Research Needs Workshop Reports:

(Listed alphabetically)

Basic Research Needs for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, July 31-August 3, 2006, to identify new, emerging, and scientifically challenging areas in materials and chemical sciences that have the potential for significant impact on advanced nuclear energy systems. (more)

PDF file of this report (27.9MB)

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Basic Research Needs: Catalysis for Energy

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Basic Research Needs in Catalysis for Energy Applications, August 6-8, 2007, to identify research needs and opportunities for catalysis to meet the nation's energy needs, provide an assessment of where the science and technology now stand, and recommend the directions for fundamental research that should be pursued to meet the goals described. (more)

PDF file of this report (4.2MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Clean and Efficient Combustion of 21st Century Transportation Fuels

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Clean and Efficient Combustion of 21st Century Transportation Fuels, October 29-November 1, 2006, to identify basic research needs and opportunities underlying utilization of evolving transportation fuels, with a focus on new or emerging science challenges that have the potential for significant long-term impact on fuel efficiency and emissions. (more)

PDF file of this report (5.9MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Electrical Energy Storage

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Basic Research Needs for Electrical Energy Storage (EES), April 2-4, 2007, to identify basic research needs and opportunities underlying batteries, capacitors, and related EES technologies, with a focus on new or emerging science challenges with potential for significant long-term impact on the efficient storage and release of electrical energy. (more)

PDF file of this report (8.1MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Basic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems, February 21-23, 2007, to identify research areas in geosciences, such as behavior of multiphase fluid-solid systems on a variety of scales, chemical migration processes in geologic media, characterization of geologic systems, and modeling and simulation of geologic systems, needed for improved energy systems. (more)

PDF file of this report (13.5MB)

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Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy

This report is based upon the BES Workshop on Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Use, held May 13-15, 2003, to identify fundamental research needs and opportunities in hydrogen production, storage, and use, with a focus on new, emerging and scientifically challenging areas that have the potential to have significant impact in science and technologies. (more)

PDF file of this report (7.2MB) (2nd printing February 2004)

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Basic Research Needs for Materials under Extreme Environments

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Basic Research Needs for Materials under Extreme Environments, June 11-13, 2007, to evaluate the potential for developing revolutionary new materials that will meet demanding future energy requirements that expose materials to environmental extremes. (more)

PDF file of this report (10.7MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Solar Energy Utilization, April 18–21, 2005, to examine the challenges and opportunities for the development of solar energy as a competitive energy source and to identify the technical barriers to large-scale implementation of solar energy and the basic research directions showing promise to overcome them. (more)

PDF file of this report (6.9MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Solid-State Lighting

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Solid-State Lighting (SSL), May 22-24, 2006, to examine the gap separating current state-of-the-art SSL technology from an energy efficient, high-quality, and economical SSL technology suitable for general illumination; and to identify the most significant fundamental scientific challenges and research directions that would enable that gap to be bridged. (more)

PDF file of this report (6.9MB)

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Basic Research Needs for Superconductivity

This report is based on a BES Workshop on Superconductivity, May 8-10, 2006, to examine the prospects for superconducting grid technology and its potential for significantly increasing grid capacity, reliability, and efficiency to meet the growing demand for electricity over the next century. (more)

PDF file of this report (9.3MB)

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The Foundational Basic Research Needs Report:

Basic Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy Future

This report is based upon a Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee workshop that was held in October 2002 to assess the basic research needs for energy technologies to assure a reliable, economic, and environmentally sound energy supply for the future.

The workshop discussions produced a total of 37 proposed research directions. (more)

PDF file of this report (13.0MB)